Forced
by JessFantasy16
Summary: Salazar Slytherin is in love with a maid in his household, but he's betrothed to Rowena Ravenclaw. When they are forced to marry, will they find love where they least expect it? Loosely based on the movie Lady Jane.
1. Prologue

**Forced**

**Disclaimer: **Umm…. Yeah! So I heard this, like, ridiculous rumor that this girl, like, stole this story from this famous author, and I was like, whoa! Who would do something like that? I wouldn't! Heh… you know it's not mine and I won't pretend that it is… I own part of the plot line and the characters that you don't recognize… The ones you recognize are J.K. Rowling's and their eventual goal in life is also Ms. Rowling's. I got part of the plot line/ the idea of the plot line from the movie _Lady Jane _(CARY ELWES!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!) So, the bit of plot that I got… it belongs to the people who own _Lady Jane_. So, everything else is mine! Yay me!

**Chapter One: Prologue**

"Salazar! Stop it!" Giselle giggled. He smiled down at her as he continued to run his long fingers across her bare shoulder, tickling her skin. "Sal! Stop it!" she said sitting up from being sprawled across his chest. She looked down at him and smacked his hand away playfully. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, all traces of the teasing look that had been in his eyes merely moments before had vanished. They sat like that for a while, lost in each other. Salazar pulled her down and his lips met hers in a passionate kiss.

When they pulled away, they lay in the grass, together, in love. Giselle sighed, contentedly. There she was, lying in the perfect autumn night in the arms of the man she loved, the man who loved her. She felt his arms tighten around her after she sighed.

"What is it, love?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said, smiling down at him. "Just thinking."

"What about?"

"Us," she replied, dreamily.

"Hmm…" Salazar trailed off and Giselle could sense his uneasiness.

"What's the matter, Sal?" she asked.

For a moment he was silent. He was inwardly debating. Finally, he could no longer hold it in. "Giselle, I'm sorry that we have to keep our love secret. I know that it bothers you, and it bothers me, too… it's just that I want to wait until we have a plan to tell my father…" Salazar trailed off moodily. He knew that his father would not react happily to the fact that his middle son had fallen in love with one of their household maids.

"Aww… Sal! Let's not worry about that right now. We'll talk about it when it's raining or something, not when it's so nice out," Giselle protested.

"Okay, Gise," Salazar said, smiling into her eyes befoe he kissed her again.

Even so, the mood was ruined and Giselle soon left to go back to the Slytherin Mansion. Salazar followed her about fifteen minutes later, still contemplating his and Giselle's current predicament. Little did he know that he was followed by yet another person… his father's personal assistant, Q.

Salem Slytherin sat at oak desk that was washed a black color. His head was in his hands and he was reading some papers that contained something about the state of his farms on his estate. Salem liked to handle as much as he could about his estate by himself because the only person he trusted wholly on his staff was his faithful assistant, Q.

However, though the lord appeared to be doing calculations and paperwork, his mind was really somewhere else. He had recently heard from a maid that his son was seen with one of the other maids… the Giselle. Lord Slytherin had to admit that the girl was beautiful. She had long, straight red-gold hair that she wore up in a bun. She had chocolate brown eyes and beautiful ivory skin. She had a perfect body and was incredibly obedient.

Normally, Salem would have thought that it was good for his son to be exposed to the opposite sex and to have fun with one of the maids… after all, he had done it himself when he had been younger. What had troubled him was that his source had told him that they were in love. And planning an escape.

Salem was incredulous when the servant girl had told him this. But, she had insisted adamantly that it was true and Lord Slytherin knew that all of his servants were far too afraid of him and Q to tell him lies. However, just to be on the safe side, Salem had sent Q to follow his son. His assistant was incredibly sneaky and sly. It was slightly unnerving. Q had been gone all day and Salem was expecting him back soon. He had told Q to come back before supper.

As if his thoughts had called his assistant to him, Lord Slytherin heard a knock at his door, signaling Q's return. Salem knew that it was his assistant who had knocked because nobody else would have dared knock on his personal office door.

"Enter," Salem said, looking towards the oak door that matched his desk in color.

A small man entered. He had graying black hair that looked incredibly greasy. His skin was a pale, grayish color that came of little exposure to the sun. His slightly dulled, yet beady, eyes also showed signs of little contact with bright lights. When he smiled at Salem, he showed about two yellow teeth along with a few other rotten black ones. The rest had fallen out long ago. The man was chubby and his sizable stomach hung over his belt. Even from across the room, Salem could smell the odor that protruded from this man. He could almost see the dirt that coated the man's body through his stubby beard.

Q's greedy little eyes sparkled with glee as he approached his master. Though Salem had at first found this little man repulsive, and he still did to some extent, he had seen Q's uses and had grown to trust and rely on him. Q ran the intricate spy system that Lord Slytherin used to get all of his information on his household, the households of his enemies, and to keep an eye on the magical government, to make sure that it was corrupt in a way that would help him.

Salem was somewhat dreading what Q had to say. Q loved to stir up troubled and see others get in trouble, among other things. So, when Salem saw the gleam in his servant's eyes, he knew that Q had grub on someone… most likely his son. Still, non-the-less, Salem wanted to know what was going on so that he could prevent his son from making a mistake that would hurt him (him is referring to Salem, not Salazar).

"Master Slytherin," Q said, gracing his master with a deep bow, or as deep as he could go, considering his weight.

Salem nodded at his spy master. "What do you have to report, Q?" he asked, trying to keep the dread out of his voice.

"I followed young Salazar today," Q informed his master.

"And, what did you find out?" Salem asked the little man, eager to get this over with.

"Well, the girl was right. Your son is in love with a servant girl, and she in love with him," Q said, almost giggling with glee.

Salem sat back down in his chair and covered his face with his hands, trying to regain composure in front of one of his servants. "And you're absolutely certain of this?" Salem asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes," Q said. "I saw them go out to the grounds together. They lay in the grass and kissed… quite a bit. They professed their undying love for each other and somewhat discussed an escape plan." When he saw his master's eager eye, Q quickly corrected himself. "They didn't discuss it, exactly. Your son mentioned it and the girl, Giselle I think it is, told him to wait to talk about it later… when it was raining…" Q trailed off.

Salem didn't answer his servant immediately. He sighed into his palms and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to clear his head. This was bad for more than one reason. First of all, nobles didn't fall in love with their servant girls. It was unheard of. Sure, they took them as mistresses and as bed-warmers, but other than that, nothing was supposed to be happening there.

The second reason was something that he hadn't mentioned to Salazar since he was about five. Salazar was betrothed to be married to the fair Rowena Ravenclaw.

Rowena stood at the cliff's edge. The warm tears that flowed from her eyes tasted salty against her chapped lips. She stared unblinking out at the mountains, even though the bitter wind whipped her long brown hair into her face. Her long, midnight blue dress whipped around her legs and its sleeves flapped around her arms. Though it was chilly on the cliff, even for November, Rowena felt no colder than she had when she had woken up in her warm bed that morning. The cold that consumed her seeped from her heart, rather than from the wind around her.

_Today would have been his fifteenth birthday_. Rowena thought as she continued to look at the mountains that her brother, Ben, had so loved to paint. After a couple of minutes, she could stand it no longer. She turned around and started walking back to her family's mansion, all the while scolding her self.

_Ben wouldn't have wanted me to be like this. He would laugh at me for being silly and tell me to go live my life_, she thought as she trudged up to the side door tat led into the kitchen.

Luckily, no one was in the kitchen when she entered. All the servants were eating their breakfast in the servants' quarters and she could hear their chatting and laughing through the door that divided the kitchen from where the servants ate. She smiled sadly as she remembered how kind her brother always was to the servants. He was the one who had taught her that status did not matter, but intelligence and kindness did. _He taught me so many things, even thought he was three years younger than me_, Rowena thought as she made her way up to her apartments.

After she let herself into her rooms, she sat down in her favorite arm chair by the fireplace and watched the fire as it sparked and glowed.

A little while later, Rowena's personal maid, and close friend, Lilliana entered the room. When she looked up to see Rowena sitting in the room, she jumped a little, but quickly graced her lady with a bow.

"Miss Rowena! I wasn't expecting you to be back," she said, smiling. However, her smile soon turned into a frown as she noticed the look on Rowena's face. "Why, Milady! Whatever is the matter?" she asked, rushing over to her mistress.

Rowena looked up at her friend and could no longer hold it in. "Oh, Lili!" was all she got out before she burst into tears.

Lilliana looked worriedly at her mistress before awkwardly encircling Rowena in a hug. Rowena hung to her like she was a life line. Lilliana tightened her hug, all traces of awkwardness gone.

"Why, Milady! Whatever is the matter? Would you like to confide in me?" she asked. She knew that she was not being entirely proper, but she also knew that what Rowena needed most now was a friend, not servant.

"I miss my brother!" Rowena sobbed into Lilliana's shoulder. Lilliana hugged her mistress whilst whispering soothing words in Rowena's ear and gently rubbing her back.

Later, Rowena could barely express in words the gratitude she felt towards Lilliana.

Roddfellow Ravenclaw looked up from his book on dragons when he heard a knock at his door.

"Come on in," he said in his warm voice. Unlike his friend Salem Slytherin, Roddfellow was extremely warm to his staff and, in return, they were truly loyal to him.

A timid young boy entered the room hesitantly, bearing a piece of parchment.

"Yes, Evan?" Rodd said, gesturing the boy to come farther into the room. Evan crept timidly towards his lord's desk.

"U-umm… Th-this letter came fo-for you, Lord Ravenclaw," he managed to stutter before backing up into a low bow and then bolting out the door.

"Thank you, Evan," Lord Ravenclaw called after the small servant boy. He shook his head, smiling. He looked down at the letter and saw the familiar seal at the bottom of double S's. "Ah, Slytherin, old friend," he said to himself as he read through the letter. It read as follows:

_Dear Rodd,_

_I received your letter late yesterday evening and I am glad for it, for I seem to have forgotten our previous bargain. I am having a bit of trouble with Salazar, to tell you the truth. But, that is what can be expected of young boys his age, I suppose. I will work it all out in the end._

Here, Rodd stopped reading to chuckle and say, "Oh, I know you will, Salem."

_I think that it would benefit all involved if Rowena and Salazar were to meet again at some point in the not-too-distant future. I would be greatly pleased to hear a prompt reply from you. _

_I am sorry that this has come last, but I had to make sure I remembered everything. Anyhow, how are you faring, old friend? I hope that you and the children are well, especially young Rowena, for I would like a grandson in the near future, wouldn't you? _

_Salazar Slytherin_

Underneath Salazar's signature was the seal with two snakes acting as S's.

Rodd laughed out loud at the formality his friend used. Though Salazar wrote this way in every letter, Rodd still found it quite humorous, especially since they were such close friends. He knew that the last paragraph was difficult for his friend to write, and he was grateful for the effort.

Lord Ravenclaw took out his quill and began writing a reply to his friend. His letter was far from formal and Rodd wrote it that way on purpose, just to make his friend fell uncomfortable. Who said that he had to grow up?

_Hey all!!! This is so exciting! My first founders fic!!! YAY!!! Anyway, if anybody's seen the movie _Lady Jane_ with Cary Elwes (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!) and Helena Bonham Carter, that's where I got the idea for this story… But, I will not follow the plot line of the movie, I'll just use the idea. Anyhoo, This is my first fic in a while that's not humorous… But, that's okay. Before anybody asks, yes, Q's name comes from _James Bond_. I couldn't think of a better name, though. If anybody's read _City of Flowers_ in the _Stravaganza _series by Mary Hoffman, I based Q on Enrico or "the Eel" in that book. Has anybody ever noticed how fun it is to write absolutely disgusting characters? Writing beautiful characters is boring, but writing repulsive characters is _so_ much fun!!! Anyway, please review and all that jazz…_

_Peace, love, and James Bond,_

_Jess 3_


	2. Surprise!

**Forced**

**Disclaimer: **I'm too lazy to write another clever, witty declaimer, so… you know I don't own it… and if you want proof, see the previous chapter! Mwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

**Chapter Two: Surprise!**

Salazar walked towards the oak door at the end of the corridor, dreading the confrontation he was about to have with his father. Salazar had never really gotten along well with his father. They saw things in different way, had different goals in life.

Salazar sighed before he knocked on the black door. He tried his best to put up his mind shield and brace himself, but he knew it would not work. His father always knew exactly what his weaknesses were and used them to his advantage. Salazar was completely defenseless when it came to his father.

After he knocked, he had to wait a few seconds before he heard his father's cold voice ask- no, command him to enter. Salazar straightened his back, pushed the door open and strode into his father's office. He stopped a few feet from his father's desk and made a deep bow saying, "My lord."

"Hello, Salazar," Salem said, looking pointedly at his son.

"Hello, Father," Salazar said, trying to keep all traces of wariness out of his voice.

"Please, have a seat," Salem said, indicating the chair on the other side of his desk. After Salazar had seated himself, Salem continued. "I have something quite urgent to talk to you about, though I doubt very much that it will please you," Salem said.

_Yeah? Well that never stopped you before_, Salazar thought bitterly. He would have loved to say that out loud to his father, but he couldn't. He hated how scared he was of the man sitting before him.

Salem continued. "I have just received a letter from my old friend, Lord Ravenclaw and it has reminded me of a promise that we made to each other… that concerns you," Salem said, looking intently at his son.

_Uh oh… Here it comes_. Salazar braced himself.

"Well, I'll just cut to the chase, you need to get married, and soon. You may not be the eldest, but you still need to get married and produce heirs for your inheritance. You will receive one of my other estates, perhaps the one in Hollsmeade. And, you will need to run that estate while your brother runs this main one, along with a few others. You will be responsible for helping your brother bring in crops, defending our estates et cetera." At this point, Salem stopped and looked up at his son, waiting for a reaction.

Salazar sighed. "And who do you wish me to marry, Father?"

"Do you have a preference?"

Salazar hesitated. He knew his father well enough that he didn't care for his son's opinion on such matters. He knew this was a trick question. "Whoever would be most beneficial to our family?"

"Ah, right you are. You see, it would greatly benefit us to merge our household with another noble household, wouldn't you say?" Salem didn't wait for his son to answer. "Now, as I mentioned before, I recently received a letter from my good friend Lord Ravenclaw, you remember him? Yes, well, he reminded me of a… betrothal we arranged when you were but two years old. You are to marry the fair Rowena Ravenclaw."

As soon as the words escaped his father's mouth, Salazar's heart sank. He and Giselle didn't have a chance. He had known that from the beginning. If only they could find a way to run away together. But, he knew that even if he plucked up the courage to defy his father, his father would find him and assign him to an even worse fate, perhaps as a monk. "Oh," was all he managed to force out of his now dry mouth.

Salem smirked at him unpleasantly. "Do you have any objections to this?"

"They do not matter, My Lord," Salazar said carefully.

"I know, but I would like to hear your complaints," Salem said, flashing, once again, an unpleasant smile at his son. Salazar should have known that it was a trap then and there.

"Umm… I would rather not marry Rowena."

"How come?"

_Well, here goes nothing_, Salazar thought. "Because, I am in love with someone else."

"Oh?" Salem asked, feigning innocence. "And who is that?"

Another deep breath. "Giselle, the kitchen maid."

"Ah hah… Are you sure that you are in love with her, and would not just like to take her as a bed-warmer?"

Salazar shot his father a disgusted look. "I would never use Giselle like that!"

"Oh, so you really _do_ love her? Such a shame that you can't be together." Salem waited for his son's reaction. When none came, he continued. "So, do you think that you should be allowed to marry Giselle, the kitchen maid, rather than the fair Lady Ravenclaw?"

"Personally, I would agree with that statement."

"Ah, infatuation has clouded your judgment, boy. Do you think that your pleasure is more important than this family's prosperity and health? Do you think that I will let you marry a… a… _kitchen maid_?" The last two words were spat out with such disgust that Salazar actually backed up a bit into his chair. "Salazar, you will never see that girl again. I have already sent her to a friend's estate in Balanova. No, I didn't let her go, because that would only give you the chance to find each other. You will marry Rowena Ravenclaw and that is final." He glared at his son, daring him to protest. "You are dismissed."

Salazar got up and made a deep bow before exiting. He was furious. His father wouldn't even let him say goodbye to Giselle. He didn't know how he would be able to marry another, when she was still out there.

He strode angrily back to his room and slammed his door behind him.

"_Alohamora_!" he said, locking the door so that he could brood in peace.

Rowena looked morosely at the stew that sat in front of her. She had barely taken two bites all night at dinner and had been twirling her spoon around and around in her bowl, trying to create the illusion that she was actually eating it. So far, supper had been silent at the Ravenclaws' dining table. Lord Ravenclaw was started to get worried about his children's silence, even if it had been a year to the day since their brother's death.

"So, I got a letter from my old friend Salem Slytherin, you all remember him, don't you?" he asked his four children. They mumbled their response, not even looking up. "Good. Well, he was particularly interested in you, Rowena."

"Oh?" she said, finally looking up. When she saw the pointed look in her father's eyes, she knew that this letter directly involved her.

"I don't know if you remember, dear, but you are betrothed to Lord Slytherin's son, Salazar," Rodd said, looking warily at his daughter. He knew that it was bad of him to talk to her about this in her time of weakness, but at any other time, she would have out-right refused.

"I don't remember that, no," Rowena said, now paying full attention to her father.

"Well, you are betrothed to Salazar. And you will soon be married," he said, looking up at his daughter.

"Oh," was all Rowena could manage.

"He will be coming here within the next fortnight to get to know you and court you." Now, Rodd was starting to get worried at his daughter's obedience. He knew that she had hopes and dreams and having a husband would stop her from achieving them. However, Rowena didn't understand that because she was a woman, she wouldn't be able to achieve them, anyway. But, Rowena was stubborn and Rodd had no doubt that she would have found a way to make her dreams be realized. However, he couldn't afford to break his promise to his friend Salem and he knew that having this alliance with the Slytherin household would greatly help the Ravenclaws, for the Slytherins were extremely powerful. Yet, it was still difficult to force this marriage on his daughter. Rowena had always been a weakness of his.

"Oh," Rowena said again. She was rather numb and wished her father would stop talking so that she could think. "May I be excused?" she asked.

"Of course, my dear," Rodd said, looking worriedly at his daughter.

Rowena got up and strode away from the table, leaving the rest of the family to enjoy their supper in more uncomfortable silence, laced with confusion.

Salazar sat in a chair in his receiving room, brooding. He was still angry at his father, even though he knew he was right. Even though Salem had many faults, he always put the good of the entire family before his own interests. _Except when he took Marielle as a mistress_, Salazar thought bitterly. _Maybe if you had paid more attention to Mother, she would have tried to live instead of surrendering to her illness_. After his mother's death, Salazar and his brother had drifted apart; Salazar hating his father and Sazlan worshipping him.

During this time, Salazar had grown especially close to his younger sister, Selena. Salazar felt it his duty to protect his little sister, seeing as neither his father nor his brother would. Now, however, Selena was visiting their Aunt in London, for Aunt Selma had insisted that the girl needed a female influence, seeing as their mother had died when she was only twelve-years-old. Salazar missed his sister bitterly, but was grateful when he had Giselle. But, now, it seemed that he didn't even have her.

Salazar was pulled from his brooding thoughts when he heard a gentle tap at his door. He said a quick spell that allowed him to see through the door briefly. He saw that the person who had knocked on his door was Lisbeth, one of the other kitchen maids and a close friend of Giselle's. He quickly walked to the door and opened it.

Lisbeth jumped slightly when he opened the door. She was always a bit of a jumpy, twitchy girl, but she seemed particularly nervous at the moment. She bobbed a slight curtsey to Salazar and he inclined his head for her to explain why she was there.

"So surry to disturb ya, suh, but umm… Giselle axed me to come up and fetch ya. She would like to erm… say g'bye." Lisbeth's eyes darted down the hallway, as if to check that no one was listening in on their conversation.

"Where would she like me to meet her?" Salazar asked her, anxious to see Giselle.

"Jus' follow me, suh," Lisbeth said, and he did.

She led him through the many corridors of Slytherin mansion down several flights of steps until they reached the music room. Lisbeth knocked lightly on the door three times. The door was opened quickly by Giselle and she ushered them in roughly.

"Giselle! I thought I would never see you again!" Salazar said, drawing her in for a passionate kiss and causing Lisbeth to blush and feel especially uncomfortable.

"Salazar, we haven't got much time! But, I had to see you before I left. I'm leaving in about fifteen minutes," Giselle said urgently. "I had to talk to you."

Salazar stopped trying to kiss her when he noticed the tone of her voice. "What about?"

"Salazar. We're never going to see each other again. No, don't try and protest, we're not. So, I had to tell you that you have to stop loving me. Look, I know that it will be painful, but otherwise, neither of us will be able to live. Look, you have to get married and I have to as well. We must promise each other that we will try to love our new partners." She looked at Salazar pleadingly. "Look, you can still have a special place for our memories, but that's all they'll be… memories. We can't make this work out no matter what. Salazar, promise me that you'll try to fall in love with Lady Ravenclaw."

Salazar was about to protest, but when he saw the look in his lover's eyes, he knew that she was right. They needed to move on. "I promise," he said, heaving a big sigh.

She smiled at him. Then, she hugged him, as he would have hugged his sister, not his lover. And, as they let go of each other, Salazar began to let go of Giselle. It would take some time for him to finally get over her, but he was ready to start fresh and meet Rowena, give her a chance.

"I is surry to break dis up, but Giselle is leavin' now," Lisbeth said awkwardly.

"Yes, of course, Beth. Sorry," Giselle said, shooting Salazar one last smile before she walked out of his life forever.

Rowena sat in the courtyard, letting the cold wind blow her brown hair around her face. Though it was quite cool out, Rowena felt perfectly comfortable in her shift and cloak. She had always loved the cold. She hated the hot summer days when her hair stuck to her neck because of the heat. She loved the cool winters, especially when it snowed. Going for walks around the grounds of Ravenclaw Manor was one of her favorite things to do. She loved walking through the woods, standing on the cliffs, sitting by the lake. It was all so calming.

She was trying to gather her thoughts. Well, she had always known that she would have to get married, even though she would have preferred not to. She had always planned on running away and disguising herself as a man, so that she could achieve her goal of opening her own school. But, what was the point on brooding on such thoughts? She would never accomplish her dream and she might as well face that now instead of lying to herself.

_Ben, what would you have said to cheer me up? You always knew exactly what to do or say… Oh, how I miss you_, Rowena thought to her dead brother. She had taken to talking to him about her problems and life in general. She liked to think that he could hear her.

Rowena heard a footstep and looked up, but it was dark out and she couldn't make out the approaching figure.

"_Lumos_!" she said, illuminating her sister, Sarah Anne's pretty face.

"How are you, Rowena?" she asked, sitting down next to her younger sister.

"All right. I was just thinking of Ben and how he always knew how to cheet me up," Rowena admitted.

"Well, I know I'm a poor substitute, but I'll try." Sarah Anne smiled at Rowena. Rowena smiled back. "Look, I know that you planned on never getting married, but I hear that Lord Salazar is one of the nicest young men in the country. Even though his father is cool ad unattached, I recall hearing that he resembled his mother more, and she was such a jolly, nice lady. I think that you two will get along splendidly. And, who knows, maybe he'll support your dream school and even help you open it, because you _do_ need a man, Ro, even if you don't want to." Sarah Anne looked earnestly at her sister.

"Thanks, Sarah. I fell better," Rowena said, hugging her sister, and she meant it.

"Any time, Ro." Sarah Anne looked at her sister. "Look, I know that you were closest to Ben, but you do have a big family. You still have me, Sam, Tom, and Father. You don't have to be alone."

"I know," Rowena said. "It was just that Ben's death was such a blow, I am still having a hard time dealing with it."

"I know, Ro. But, we're your family. We're here to help. We love you. Never forget that, Ro, okay?" Sarah Anne said, looking into her sisters eyes.

"I won't," Rowena promised her sister.

_Okay, lovelies!! Nobody's reviewing!!! How am I supposed to be excited to write more if I get no feedback?! Any way, I hope you like this chapter… I hope that the chapters will start getting longer. I just didn't have too much for the first two. Heh… Now, I really don't know much about England in the tenth century… so I'm trying my best, although that's not very good. Also, I'm sorry if the use of magic seemed a bit abruot, but I realized that I didn't have any magic in the first chapter, and this story has magic in it… Anyway, if you're reading this, please review!!_

_Love, _

_Jess _


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